What Is Polysorbate 80 And Why Should You Avoid It?

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Our daily lives see us exposed to toxins in many forms. We breathe them in thanks to polluted air, we unwittingly apply them to our skin, serve them up disguised in our foods, not to mention inhaling cigarette smoke, even as a by product of someone else’s life choices.

Our modern lifestyle is largely toxic, so much so that ‘detoxing’ is a term that we are used to seeing.

Unfortunately allergies and disease are also things we are used to seeing, and medical studies are beginning to make connections between some of these toxins and damage to our bodies.

But what of polysorbate 80?

What is it?

This is a lesser known synthetic compound, also known as Tween 80.

It is an amber/golden-colored viscous liquid. It is made from polyethoxylated sorbitan (chemical compounds derived from the dehydration of sugar alcohol) and oleic acid, a fatty acid found in animal and vegetable fats.

What does it do?

Polysorbate 80 is used as an emulsifier or defoamer in foods, vitamins, medicines, and vaccines.

Why is it used in food?

It is used as a defoamer for the fermenting process of some wines, and also to bind some ice-creams and other ‘puddings’, to keep their creamy texture without separating. It is also used to bulk foods up and keep sauces smooth.

Why is it used in cosmetics?

It can also act as a surfactant in soaps and cosmetics, as well as a solubilizer – helping to dissolve ingredients so that they can more easily blend together. It is used as a solubilizer. It makes products look creamier and more attractive.

Polysorbate 80

Why is it used in medicine?

It is used as an ingredient in some vaccines, as well as in some vitamins and supplements. Polysorbate 80 is used to improve the consistency of gel capsules and to make pills disperse in the stomach.

What products is it used in?

Polysorbate 80 is a versatile and useful ingredient, so it is present in quite a few products. Here is a short, generalized list of where it is most often found:

Should we be worried?

Let’s see what the Material Safety Data Sheet for polysorbate 80 has to say: • Slightly flammable to flammable in presence of heat • Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. • May cause adverse reproductive effects based on animal test data. No human data found. • May cause cancer based on animal test data. No human data found. • May affect genetic material (mutagenic)

However, it is also listed in the handbook of green chemicals.

Important

Not all Polysorbate 80 is created equal

Some cosmetic grade Polysorbate 80 may potentially contain ethylene oxide, 1,4-dioxane and mono- and diethylene glycol as impurities, although worryingly these carcinogenic contaminants have also been picked up in food additives.

The report on Skin Deep gives Polysorbate a moderate hazard, with a 3/10 rating, but the contaminants ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane have ratings as a high hazard (8/10 and 10/10).

Generally, the cosmetic grade Polysorbate 80 is more likely to contain these impurities. Some natural cosmetics manufacturers are very careful about the quality that they use, and stick to only the food grade Polysorbate 80.

Polysorbate 80

What about scientific studies?

There are many published studies which analyze Polysorbate 80, but it is important to recognize their limitations before generalizations are made.

This study suggests a link between the ingredient and infertility in mice.

The relative weight of the uterus and ovaries was decreased relative to the untreated controls. ….. Ovaries were without corpora lutea, and had degenerative follicles.

It was seen to accelerate the maturation of female rats and resulted in deformities of the ovary. These effects were demonstrated in newborn mice which were injected with Polysorbate 80. It is certainly a concern when we consider that some vaccines may contain Polysorbate 80.

A separate study suggested that Polysorbate 80 could be a causative agent of a pregnant woman going into anaphylactic shock.

While this is also a worry, I would choose to be wary of this study as research was conducted on just one pregnant woman who had a severe allergic reaction to a multivitamin administered via IV. While doctors identified Polysorbate 80 as the cause, no other incidences of this type of reaction have been reported.

A recent study has shown a real connection between ingesting Polysorbate 80 and the development of bowel problems – it could be a real worry for those with a predisposition to Colitis.

Relatively low concentrations of two commonly used emulsifiers, namely carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, induced low-grade inflammation and obesity/metabolic syndrome in wild-type hosts and promoted robust colitis in mice predisposed to this disorder….These results support the emerging concept that perturbed host–microbiota interactions resulting in low-grade inflammation can promote adiposity and its associated metabolic effects. Moreover, they suggest that the broad use of emulsifying agents might be contributing to an increased societal incidence of obesity/metabolic syndrome and other chronic inflammatory diseases.

In a similar vein, the study linked here connected Polysorbate 80 to exacerbated Crohn’s Disease.

Crohn’s disease is common in developed nations where the typical diet is low in fibre and high in processed food. Primary lesions overlie Peyer’s patches and colonic lymphoid follicles where bacterial invasion through M-cells occurs. We have assessed the effect of soluble non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) and food emulsifiers on translocation of Escherichia coli across M-cells.

Translocation of E coli across M-cells is reduced by soluble plant fibres, particularly plantain and broccoli, but increased by the emulsifier Polysorbate-80. These effects occur at relevant concentrations and may contribute to the impact of dietary factors on Crohn’s disease pathogenesis.

Polysorbate 80 has also been causally linked with an increased risk of blood clots, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and of tumor growth or recurrence in patients with certain types of cancer .

So should we avoid Polysorbate 80?

The evidence suggests that this ingredient is potentially toxic, particularly the lower grade versions – which are typically used in cosmetics which list Polysorbate 80 in their ingredients lists.

It can be considered a concern to accept vaccines which contain the ingredient.

The choice is ultimately down to you, and while we are told that ingesting Polysorbate is not a high risk, there are certainly some worrying issues.

When reading labels, be aware that it can also go by Alkest, Canarcel and Tween.

What are your thoughts? Do you already avoid Polysorbate 80? Or do you consider it safe enough for you and your family?

Comments

Try looking at the website, Skin Deep. I am not a doc or a researcher, neither is my husband either of those mentioned. I am a State licensed Esthetician ( not a med spa tech), and my husband is a Chemist. We can’t find anything wrong with Polysorbate 80. Everybody is panicking about everything these days. I see people jumping on the titanium dioxide bandwagon. It’s a mineral,for peters sake. Please don’t get me started on fears about mineral makeup. It’s what else is in the makeup i.e., is it pure? I would be much more concerned about talc.

In all honestly everything stems back to the FDA who we thought was suppose to o ly approve safe food for us to eat. Comes to light they were bought off by BIG PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES for profit and NOT HEALTH…. Same as all those vaccinations…checkout all the children being effected plus all the side effects from aspirns,Tylenol,motrin,advil…yet they were all approved by who? The FDA….something needs to be done but where to start? There’s so many crooked people with money…Bill Gates,David Rothschild…

What you’ve said here is really true. My husband and I have been reading up on these things for over 10 years now and have changed out lifestyle quite a bit. Have you heard of Ty Bollinger and The Truth About Cancer? Definitely worth looking into. So sad that there’s still so much cancer and other diseases……there are other ways to treat these diseases. Everyone should read the book, “The Truth About Cancer” !!

There is a doctor by the name of Dr. Burzynski who’s been curing cancer since 1977 without using drugs or chemicals. The FDA has been trying to get his licenses revoked. His battle with them ended in 2017 when the Courts granted him permission to continue. Watch his story. It’s called “The Cancer Cure Cover up”. You can see it on YouTube. There’s also a new procedure called Interventional Radiology and Vascular Interventional Radiology. This is surgery without the scalpel.

Well done Carol!. It is great to know that there are enlightened people around the world as 90 % of even educated people are part of the the herd, worse than a herd of cattle, which, at least, you can direct into the right direction. Ty started the whole movement of episodes with his GMOs and since then several people jumped onto the bandwagon. I watch most of them. There are of course many cancer treatments and it is a pity that the Rife system was only vaguely mentioned. The latest craze is forced vaccinations for schoolchildren and over 60s (flu’). Is there a greater conspiracy … to reduce the world’s population? Merck and others are involved, but behind them is for example China involved in their effort to take over, without guns, the world. They are already 1/4 of the world’s population. In Africa they are all over. Far fetched I know, but ………cogito ergo sum.

Mr. Ron James, Finally someone has pinned the tail on the donkey! The FDA! They are not looking out for the American Peoples’ interests and health at all! How do we change what is not working for us? America seems to be the only country who profits off the slow, sickening, demise of its people. I just found out there is Mercury in vaccinations. This infuriates me to no end! And the FDA says there is no evidence that it is not safe! Bad enough most of us are at this very moment breathing in the Mercury vapors from our mouths full of “silver” fillings that the FDA somehow believes is safe! The most toxic substance known to man I N O U R M O U T H S. These people should be thrown in jail. We need to do away with these groups that fail to meet their purpose. The only solution I have come across is TheVenusProject.com by Jacques Fresco – may he rest in peace. Check it out, it makes much more sense than our world currently does.

actually you found out too late regarding mercury/Thimerosal in vaccines. They took it out but continued to sell exhausting stocks of mercury containing vaccines– the last was out by 2006 approx. It is still present (2019) in multidose flu vaccines.

While I agree wholeheartedly with you about the ill effects of some commonly used allopathic medicines, I am left dumbfounded by your categorizing David Rothschild as “crooked”. Are you taking about David Mayer Rothschild, the noted environmentalist and naturopath? He seems no more evil than you or I.

Totally agree that Bill Gates needs an education about vaccines. So many children have chronic illness now. All environmental causes. Poor food and injecting things that we were never designed to have in our bodies.

I completely agree! I would rather trust the “FDA” of the EU as their restrictions are much better and more trustworthy.

I was looking up Polysorbate 80 because it used to be in a vitamin I was using and now isn’t. I believe they did that for a reason, especially since this vitamin is supposed to be all natural and organic. Synthetic anything isn’t.

You know what’s really scary? Polio, measles, smallpox, etc. The 2 million people who don’t die every year because they receive vaccinations kindly ask that you look outside of your little bubble and join the human race. Oh, and the Earth is not flat, the holocaust did indeed happen, and we have, in fact, landed on the moon.

“kindly ask that you look outside of your little bubble and join the human race” Really? If “look outside of your little bubble and join the human race” is your kind of “kindly” I’d sure like to see what your unkind way of trying to get your point across is. It is your kind of kindly that is totally driving the vaccine injured to tell their stories which has driven scientists, doctors, and educated lay people to do the research. I don’t know why any side of anything thinks that calling the other side stupid will actually make the other side any less stupid.

Polio isn’t even something that is spread by people. It’s heavy metal and other forms of toxic poisoning. There are multiple controversies surrounding the history of the polio vaccine. Medical doctors were told starting in the 1950s that they could no longer refer to it as polio or risk losing their license to practice. This is information that you can easily find on your own.

The fear of polio, measles, and smallpox is overblown. It’s like being afraid of being mugged by killer clowns or something else ridiculous. If you don’t believe, just look at the CDC mortality stats. Deaths from these are so rare that it is like silly bump-in-the-night fears, *ahem* pharma marketing to sell their product.

I think sheeple believing in fairy tale propaganda and made up vaccine history and delivering ad hominem attacks is truly scary. Every single thing you are told about vaccines is a lie: polio in the first world is normally a mild and transient fever, what got FDR and all those kids was a pesticide then in use during the summer. There are a lot of news articles about it from the time, it was a scandal. The vaccines maimed and killed 250 children and put them in those iron lungs. The epidemic had passed before the introduction of the vaccine. I know you won’t look it up, it’s easier to believe all the orchestrated lies, but history doesn’t lie. Do you know what is in your vaccines? Ever read the inserts? Of course not. Flowers and Unicorn Farts, right? Provaxxers trusing the medical establishment, I mean, WHY? You just believe your doctor: “safe and effective.” He is nothing but a drug pusher and knows zip about immunology, he just wants that fat payback he gets for giving them out. And it is a very fat bribe from Big Phama. Measles will never be eradicated permanently with vaccines. It wears off. The recent outbreaks were started by fully immunized people. Only natural immunity is lifelong and can be passed to your kids. Stop with the baseless attacks. Tobacco science is medical fraud. Stop closing your eyes to the painfully obvious.

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/b/excipient-table-2.pdf This is right off the CDC’s website, it’s a PDF. Poly80 is in vaccines, and will open the blood brain barrier. It bonds with aluminum in vaccines and allows the aluminum to cross over into the brain. Aluminum is a neurotoxin. I was looking into it in Foods to see who the digestion system handles it. If it indeed will allow substances to cross out of our GI track and into other area’s of the body.

Crystal A. Thanks for the site URL. So many of the vaccines have formaldehyde. The bovine extract–hope it doesn’t contain other diseases, right?African Green Monkey liver extract? Chills up the spine. And why does a vaccine need a dye? Glad I took all my vaccines in the fifties and sixties, which may have been worse. Who knows? Worth looking into.

Polysorbate 80 is in the vitamin K shot. A shot that I (a mother who questions the safety of vaccines) was talked into getting for my children. At the time, I do not recall being informed of any other ingredients (besides vitamin K) or of any possible dangers to my child. I wonder if I could sue because that was a huge betrayal of my right to “informed consent.” People should also look up the work of Del Bigtree and other researchers on vaccines. One fairly recent thing they have done is completely deny and trample all over a patients right to informed consent. Vaccination STILL IS a medical intervention. Patients have the right to “true” informed consent with any medical intervention. They are trying to say that “informing” the Doctor as an “intermediary” is enough. They know that most Drs are conditioned to believe vaccines are safe and effective. How they can read the ingredients list of any vaccine and think that way is beyond me but they do. They are so brainwashed by big Pharma in medical school that by the time they graduate they should all receive an honorary doctorate from the audubon society with a letter that reads “Congratulations you are now a parrot.” We basically have ZERO rights when it comes to vaccines. Then, on top of that we are condemned for speaking our against the lack of transparency at the CDC and the fact that profits are all that matter to them when it comes to vaccines. I AM MAD AS HELL!!! I am at the point where I just would DARE some ignorant moron to tell me that the people running organizations like Merck or the CDC give a damn about any of us. THEY ARE CRIMINALS!

Really Vikki? You are going to insult our intelligence with your own ignorance? That is ridiculous. No one is preaching or freaking out over too many syllables. How did you come up with that assumption? Most of us are here because we are concerned with these unknown substances and how they will affect us and our children. Something the FDA is failing very hard at. Why do you feel it is necessary to ridicule us for trying to find answers? Are you affiliated with the production or sales of this ingredient? What is your reason for the negativity? Do you have silver fillings in your teeth?

Have you tried German for simplicity Vikki!? Your ancestors were fortunate, as when the English came down from the trees, they found all kinds of Germanic people tilling the land and building factories. So they pinched their words. This is why many simple English words are similar to German. When they became more cultured, they pinched all the French words, when sophisticated, the Greek words. Now we have dukawallah and maridadi from the Hindi and Kiswahili. They were lucky that none of the words were patented, otherwise they would have to talk in sign language or simple murmurs which would not have multiple syllables!!!

After a number of blood tests, my doctor has found, definitively, that I am severely allergic to Polysorbate 80 so please remember that everyone’s body is different. Please do not jump to conclusions on what is safe for everyone or what is not.

We have a Blood Brain Barrier for a purpose. To protect it from harmful substances. Bypassing it, is undoubtedly connected to Autism, Alzheimer Disease, MS and other neuro diseases that are escalating. The US mortality rate and infant mortality rate is lowest of industrial nations. The agencies such as CDC, FDA, USDA make decisions based on corporate welfare…not citizen welfare. It has been revealed by Robert Kennedy, Jr, that CDC owns, sells and profits from the sales of vaccines. Did you know that you can’t sue a vaccine manufacturer? They are protected. Why? Outside of profits. Living in Cuba you would live longer.

Jane ~ You have a choice on whether or not you want to drink alcohol. A baby is not making a choice and most parents are not making an informed choice. Also, with regards to Polysorbate 80 and vaccines, alcohol is irrelevant. Pediatricians are not recommending alcohol to babies but are recommending (while most are uninformed) harmful vaccines without given the vaccine insert to parents so that they can make an informed choice. Thus, performing medical malpractice by not getting proper, legal informed consent.

Yes in 1986 Vaccine companies were allowed a legal arrangement where they could not be sued. By 1988 the vaccines tripled in number. So you can sue anyone in our world for anything except for the vaccines manufacturers- doesn’t that seem suspicious. There is an injury by vaccines trust set aside. Each dose is charged .75 that goes to this trust. So say you get a 3 in 1 shot, that is 2.25 that goes into a trust for injury victims. Most are unaware of this trust. So polysorbate 88 allows the chemicals in the vaccines to break the brain barrier. That is where all of the neurological problems come in. That’s why we have such a rise in Autism, autoimmune diseases and so much more. People please investigate and do research t So that you can make an informed decision for your child.

The problem is when aluminum crosses the blood brain barrier. It lodges there and ends up causing inflammation. This is how it can be connected with Alzheimers. Aluminum is present in vaccines. Unfortunately we are injecting it into the bodies of little children and we do not know the full effect this has on brain development. This has to stop!

Yes Kristin, I am the same. Severely allergic, anaphalxic responses. Medicines seems to be my main, but yes found some foods and skin care products that irritate me. I would love to find a list of known products this is in.

Are you allergic to sulfites? That is how I landed on this web page. I was googling in to see if polysorbate80 is a sulfite or not. Sulfites are sometimes used in foods to keep them from drying out or clumping…things like MANY dried fruits or nuts. That’s why I usually look for organic or for a disclosure stating there are no sulfites or no sulfur dioxide is the primary form you will see on packages. I still haven’t found whether or not it is a sulfite, but this page has introduced me to some other things to consider. It is in a coq10 product that I need for my heart.

Kristin, Can I ask you if you got severe cramps in legs and feet and hands from Polysorbate 80? I get these cramps and then I go and look at the foods I have consumed and most all the time I find there is Polysorbate 80 or maltodextrin in the food. I try and check before I buy but the print is so small I can’t see it or I have other people pick up food for me. Just wondering if you had that problem. Thank you

I’m allergic to all polysorbates, I’ve had nasal polyps removed three times over the years, my Doctor was treating me with prescription drugs containing polysorbates made the condition worse. The foods I was eating contained polysorbate, once I found out polysorbate was the culprit, my condition has improved immensely!

Paula, Yes, anything SORB is related. I am severly allergic to Sorbitol, Polysorbate, etc., it is in food, medicine and make-up/toiletries as a binding agent and a preservative. It nearly killed me, it affected my eye sight , leaving me with photo-phobia, migraines, eye pain, swollen eyes, face, lips, breathing difficulties… I could go on and on. I am just getting over my latest attack as I write, after having a McDonalds BBQ dip two days ago. It’s in so much of what we use everyday, and it’s also disguised as E numbers, it’s impossible to avoid, and I know one day it will kill me . Google, snowdrops blog, that’s me, it’s about my allergy and photos of what it did to me.

Haven’t you noticed that alarmist and conspiratorial ideas are created and perpetuated by ignorant persons? Your husband is a chemist; that means he’s educated and in a better place to refute misinformation and quackery.

to air on the side of caution. minerals can have an affect on us humans as well, since we all react to things differently and certainly if we are drinking certain minerals in water etc an over abundance of minerals can have harsh affect. old addage if you can’t pronounce it, I’m not convinced it’s good for you. jus sayin

Your husband is a chemist and you are an Aesthetician??? Hmmmm??? Which means you should be trained in and possess a higher knowledge base of ingredients as a professional and all you have to say is that you can’t find anything wrong with it? This is an embarrassment. I’m a medical massage therapist and Aesthetician working on becoming a Dr. I study chemistry extensively because its one of my passions. I also enjoy making my own formulations with the right unadulterated ingredients of course…Why? Simple its common sense which apparently isn’t all that common anymore due to human error, human ignorance, increased sales, increased product shelf life, and Monsanto. It’s one thing to go overboard about what is in food, beverages, and products, but it’s another thing to simply be an educated person…I choose to be the educated person. I don’t live in fear but I’m not going to be a fool either.

We already do, all day, everyday, if you have “silver” fillings in your mouth. When you mix Mercury with other metals, it causes the Mercury to become gaseous and these Mercury vapors damage every cell it comes in contact with. Right through the soft BBB and even through the placenta of pregnant women right to the fetus. It is even in the breastmilk. If you would like to read these doctors and scientists finding go here: http://www.testingfoundation.org/toxicteeth.htm Other countries have banned the use of amalgam fillings because they figured putting the most highly toxic substance we know of in our mouths seemed wrong. So they did studies that confirmed their suspicions and stopped using it. This was in the 80’s-90’s. To this day the FDA and ADA still stand firm stating it is somehow harmless IN OUR MOUTHS. They also put it in our children’s vaccinations. To preserve the shelf life which ultimately lead to more sales, more profit. That is the only thing that seems to concern them anymore. So sad. TheVenusProject.com -the only solution that provides true freedom and true equality for the whole world. Check it out. It makes way more sense than the nonsense we live in these days. You will be delighted yet mad that we didn’t implement this way of life long ago. Aloha.

Christine, perhaps you would benefit from digging a little deeper into Polysorbate 80. Polysorbate 80 is a toxic substance that should never be ingested or placed on the skin, much less injected, and yet it is in vaccines. Studies with lab rats show Polysorbate 80 has both carcinogenic and infertility effects.

I am so weary of people asking for sources because they are lazy. Look it up. When we provide sources you just ignore them because it doesn’t fit in with your brainwashing. Polysorbate in cosmetics is particularly nasty. In foods, a little won’t harm most, however it is ubiquitous in processed prepared foods: it is an emulsifier and helps with consistency. Numerous studies have been performed. Look.

Titanium dioxide may be a mineral (actually there are several forms of it, Anatase and Rutile being the most common), but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to ingest it.

Indeed the real concern isn’t that Ti dioxide itself is toxic, it’s that it is a VERY effective catalyst for the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Reactive oxygen species within the cell cause a lot of damage, including damage to DNA where it can lead to mutations and later cancer.

What is particularly concerning about the Ti dioxide used in food and cosmetics nowadays is that it is micronized (very tiny particles) which allow it to get into places in the body it normally could not access if it were the natural bulk mineral. Indeed, it has been well documented now for Ti dioxide nanoparticles to be able to cross the blood brain barrier and lodge in the hippocampus, where it causes chronic inflammation and thus damage. This finding is both unexpected and has rather unsettling implications. Additionally, it is well known that although Ti dioxide is good at reflecting light of all wavelengths, the few % that it doesn’t reflect will be absorbed and thus acts as an extremely efficient photocatalyst, again wreaking havoc on biological systems in which it has contact.

So I suggest that you and your husband take the time to do more than superficial research on the matter, otherwise all you are managing to do is publicly demonstrate yet another example of Dunning-Kruger effect.

so you believe polysorbate 80 (& 20? too) are unsafe to ingest? There are different grades of polysorbates too, those used in cosmetics for example are not supposed to be the same as food safe ones. I take it you believe no form of polysorbate is safe? Do you know of anything that IS safe for humans & dogs to ’emulsify’ essential oils for use in ultrasonic humidifier? The E.O.’s eat into the plastic the humidifier is made of & mfg. says to use ‘water soluble EO’s which most say don’t really exist, in that they’re eo’s mixed w/lots of sythetic chemicals. Basically need the EO’s to be able to blend into the water better so the oils don’t sit on the plastic. Some say use Aloe gel or juice (some say not to use period, others not to use unless it has alginate, vit c, sodium benzonate & postassium sorbate in it as otherwise it’ll go bad in a couple days) others say vodka or high grain alcohol or witch hazel & more others say none of those will work, then found those who say polysorbate 20 or 80 is the right thing & safe, but now see people saying it’s very NOT safe. It’s in pet shampoo & some sites say don’t use shampoo w/this in it because it’s bad for dogs. EEKS is there anything I CAN use?? OR should I just buy & run an additional ultrasonic diffuser which I assume is made of a plastic that does not deteriorate in the prescience of essential oils. How does one tell who knows what they’re talking about & who doesn’t there are so many ‘experts’ out there saying contradictory things. It’s very hard to try to find out what the truthful answer is! Thanks

ps this is what I found about what polysorbate 20 is – doesn’t sound so bad here, can you explain why it is? Thxs “Polysorbate 20 is derived from Oleic acid from Olive Oil and is connected to the sugar Sorbitol by a chemical process called ethoxylation, this results in the final product to become dispersible in water.”

Many people have “food” sensitivities to Polysorbate 80 & don’t know it unless they have a “Fit” test done. I am one of many that I know who HIGHLY sensitive to this synthetic compound. I don’t understand why this is found even in dill pickles….

Sorry Chrisine BUT some people’ like me’ are highly allergic to this stuff and can send me to ER so they have a right to be cautious about this and also titanium dioxide–do your homework. I don’t care if it is a mineral.

do you think it’s safe to use with essential oils for use in a humidifier (mfg says use water soluble E.O.’s & what i’ve found so far says best to do this is polysorbate 20 or 80. have 2 small dogs & wanted to know if this would be unsafe for them or not? It’s used in a lot of dog shampoos & some sites say you should avoid it, but I don’t know it it’s part of the hype you mentioned above. I assume I should buy food grade based on things I’ve read too. Wonder if 80 is better than 20 or visa versa?

To some of us Polysorbate 80 is toxic. Recently, my daughter bought a different brand of cream, which I started using in my coffee. Since using this, I have had terrible pain in my back, chest, right hip, left shoulder and left arm. After discovering that one of the ingredients in this cream was Polysorbate 80, I did some research and became very suspicious with what I found. I replaced the cream, my daughter bought, and the pain issues dissipated. Some may say, coincidence. I think not, since this would be judged a blind test.

it may not in itself ..or it may…. cause a problem to some people….BUT TO SAY IT WILL CAUSE NO PROBLEMS IS far reaching….for instance sodium nitrite by itself in foods may be fine…..but the big problem is when eaten it mixes with hydrochloric acids in the stomach and PRODUCES nitrosamines …….very carcinogenic ….then take the potato…fry it at high temperatures……and the compound acrylamide IS PRODUCED…very, very carcinogenic…..warning…cooking at high temperatures can cause the production of acrylamide….be very careful……..

Polysorbate 80 is found in Wendy’s Single Hamburgers….in the crinkle cut pickles along with sodium benzoate. I went to the E.R. today after eating this hamburger and I wanted to know what exactly was in it.

Yes, especially cream. The only time I have had Polysorbate 80 was when my daughter unwittingly brought home a new brand of “cream.” After using it for 5 days and struggling with horrible pain throughout my whole body, to the point of chest pain so bad, I thought I was suffering a heart attack, I happened to read the ingredient panel on the cream and lo and behold it listed Polysorbate 80. I will tell you, this stuff can sure screw you up. I was in pain another 10 days after I stopped using that cream, for a total of 15 days. Nasty poison is what it is, no denying that.

As someone whos been researching polysorbate 80 I find this article disturbing in that there are no values given in the study. There is not listing as to to which studies are being quoted? What if I stated that “in testing mice it is found that vitamen C is a proven cancer causing agent” but by leaving out the fact that the mice in the study were given half their body weight of vit C daily for 1/2 of their expected life span. This would be would and extreme make the results unreliable as it would be the equilivant to a 160 lb person ingesting 80lbs of Vit C every day for 40 years. So often are the writers of fear based articles uneducated in what they are writing it seems to me that the goal is not to educate but to create panic. I am not saying that polysorbate -80 is safe. I am saying that this article can’t be used as a reliable source in that it is clearly biased with no scientific backing.

Hey ..don’t be so easily turned around…eliminating items is the best way to determine allergies. Dr. William Crook sent me books he had written about that. He was famous pediatrician. Suspect everything and look up items in Mercola.com

Most anything man made will have some side effect that may potentially cause harm. Mostly because nature has many components that serve as checks & balances to prevent any one ingredient from causing “side effects” whereas man-made items do not. Best rule of thumb is error on side of caution if you truly care about your health & the environment & stick as close to organic as is possible in the US…Europe somewhat easier

Mercola is quite credible and reliably has excellent suggestions and advice. Other sites have extensive and authoritative info. One of the very best is GreenMedInfo. Host Sayer Ji has organized a wonderful tool to inform health-conscious individuals. This is not controlled by pharmaceutical companies and their conflicted advice. WebMd is not to be trusted and certainly appears to be little more than infomercial for AMA and pharma

Dr. Mercola has been accused of being a quack because he doesn’t follow Big Pharma’s goal to medicate and vaccinate every person on the planet. I discovered a couple of years ago that he has a vaccine damaged child. No wonder his medical career shifted from the norm! His articles reference the studies and you can look them up. Still, if you want to listen to Big Pharma’s trolls and front groups, and avoid the wealth of great information on Mercola.com, then try GreenMedInfo as someone else suggested. It has numerous articles, but ultimately it is a massive collection of scientific studies relating to any and every aspect of health, nutrition and medical treatments.

if you are having allergic reactions to random things, which is becoming much more prevalent these days, your immune system may be on a decline.

You can really help your immune system out by detoxifying and it does not have to be as complicated or expensive as some sources say. My fiancée watched two documentaries called “Hungry for Change,” and, “Food Matters,” which are on Netflix and, I’m sure, other places as well.

They really opened our eyes. I hope you watch them and get something out of them as well. You can really help your body heal itself and, once you kick start it, it is particularly good at healing itself.

That’s right. I use neem oil from JustNeem. A couple of drops on my tooth brush or tooth paste. I also use a free drops with warm water as mouthwash. Have not had sensitive teeth since i started using it. It stopped my gum infections, and as a side effect I don’t have any plaque buildup anymore. Best treatment ever. It’s a bit bitter though, but I got used to it quickly.

My kids just had extensive allergy testing through a specialized lab at my Integrative Pediatricians orders. They are off the chart allergic to Poloysorbate 80! Poloysorbate 80 is all new to me. Argh!!! How do we keep our kids safe when so many products are embedded with toxins?.

You just stated yourself your kids tested positive for ALLERGIES. Not everyone is allergic to the same things. Just because it may be a “toxin” to your kids doesn’t mean it’s not completely harmless to the majority of the population.

Don’t vaccinate your kids until you are completely informed about vaccines, from both sides; pro and con. Also, remember and acknowledge that “immunity” and “vaccination” are TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. BE INFORMED. LIVES DEPEND ON IT. YOUR KIDS DEPEND ON YOU TO MAKE THESE CHOICES FOR THEM. DON’T SIMPLY TRUST THE CDC, PHARMA, YOUR DOCTOR, OR ANYONE ELSE. UNTIL RESEARCH IS DONE ON NO- VACC’D vs. VACC’D, WE JUST DON’T HAVE THE CORRECT SCIENTIFIC PROOF. I find it mind-blowing that people actually call others “quacks” instead of actually seeing the corruption and profit made by making people sick/dead. Who is ACTUALLY the quack? Stupid is as stupid does.

LOL! Tell that to all the parents of and the vaccine injured people themselves. While it may be true that there are studies to show that vaccines don’t cause harm, this is not true for ALL of the people who receive them. While I support the idea of the program, and it’s successes, I do not support the way in which it is produced and administered without much choice. Also, who is paying for those studies? Always follow the money. The vaccine program is a multi billion world wide program. I have seen both sides of this issue. I have one Autistic and two neuro-typical children. My Autistic son is allergic to formaldehyde, one of the ingredients in many vaccines. After discovering this, he was medically exempt from the vaccine program. Fast forward 10 yrs. State of IL wanted to re run blood work to see if he was still exempt, or they would pull him from school if we didn’t comply. We did and he suffered. That was sophomore yr and he is now almost 22 and just getting independent bowel movement training back. (Yes, he had that skill prior to the DTaP) So, we are NOT ANTI SCIENCE people. WE are aware there are non organic things being put into products, and in some people they wreak havoc. Besides if the vaccines were COMPLETELY safe, why have a Vaccine Injury Compensation Program?

I would like to know what it is made from. I am allergic to corn, corn pollen and all corn derivatives. I have a 5 page list of derivatives and polysorbate 80 is on that list. Can polysorbate 80 be made from other things? For example, sorbitol is made from corn, but it can also be made from birch. So, does anybody know if polysorbate 80 can be made from another source?

That isn’t at all how chemistry works. Sorbitol is just hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. It could be made from simple hydro-carbons, alcohols, etc… just because it can be made from corn (hydrocarbons, sugars, etc that are IN corn oils) doesn’t mean you would be allergic to the corn version, but not the birch version… sorbitol is sorbitol regardless of what its is “made from”.

I have seen that polysorbate 80 is nothing more than sorbitol and polyoxyethylene also known as polyethylene glycol; back in 2008 when the FDA tested 8 lots of miralax(polyethylene glycol 3350) they found diethylene and ethylene glycol in all 8 lots they tested. Both of these chemicals can be toxic. I’m assuming if you have any sort of allergy you’re probably dealing with a leaky gut. These chemicals break down the tight junctions of the gut and allow these proteins to cross the blood brain barrier.

So so so many people are dealing with leaky gut. If you have a fat belly, chances are you have a gut imbalance, may be leaky gut! I won’t say what causes it, because I do not know 100%. I do know that a diet rich in vegetables and healthy protein sources helps, but only if you cut out processed foods and starches. Starches feed the bad buggers in your belly. You cannot heal unless you get rid of the buggers, and get rid of the starches that feed the buggers. That being said, once in optimal health slowly reintroducing organic rice, organic quinoa, etc; could be very good for you. If you have any type of psoriasis, eczema, or other skin condition I am talking to you. Your skin is a direct sign of what is going on inside your gut. If you have red cheeks throughout the day/night , your body is inflammatory. If you have chicken skin on your arms or such, I am talking to you. If you have acne, I am talking to you. If you have lots of burping or gas from the nether regions, that is a sign you are stressing your digestive system. I won’t have any gas at all, but put a few slices of pizza in me and I am singing butt opera. If you have acid reflux, I am talking to you! I had it for years all my adult life until I got rid of starches. Now again, put a couple pieces of pizza in me and I wake up feeling like I “need food” in me to get rid of the icky tummy bile feeling. I choose to stay away from corn and things derived from corn, but that really isn’t the whole story. This information came from years of medical problems, tests, emergency surgery, hypertension, obesity, PCOS, psoriasis, etc. etc. Accidentally started getting cured by following a low carb diet without the processed low carb propaganda diet bars and treats and crap. Too many ingredients! Pinterest yourselves some whole food recipes!

Your statement is like a breath of common sense. I entered the whole foods, Pinterest & natural remedies world 2 years ago because my son was diagnosed with eczema when he was a baby. Modern-day Drs claim three is no cure, only time might help & blah blah blah. I knew there was SOMETHING that was causing it. He’s off of his triamcinolone steriod ointment-in place are essential oils (my specific special brand through one specific company guaranteed for their purely), pure unrefined organic coconut oil & unprocessed foods-thank Trader Joe’s, Madison Market & carefully chosen online purchases.

Allergenic and toxic are not at all the same thing. Reacting badly to poison doesn’t mean you are allergic to it. Carbon monoxide kills people, but they aren’t allergic to it – or they’d be dead long ago since it’s a component of the air we breathe. Arsenic, too.

“CoQ10 is a vitamin-like nutrient that plays a vital role in the energy production in every cell in our body. Our body naturally produces CoQ10 and converts ubiquinone to ubiquinol. However, our body’s ability to produce CoQ10 and convert it into ubiquinol significantly decreases as we age. Ubiquinone CoQ10 is the active form of CoQ10 – approximately 95% of the CoQ10 circulating in our body is in the form of ubiquinol. As we age, our body’s ability to produce ubiquinone and convert it into its active form of ubiquinol diminishes significantly. Advanced ubiquinol is both water and fat soluble, unlike regular unsolubilized ubiquinone that dissolves in fats only and to a very limited degree.”

You are taking something that is going to give you energy… of course you will experience symptoms similar to that of something like say caffeine (increased heart rate, wakefulness, etc)

Reading the label is excellent advice. As also to be aware and skeptical of trolls who parrot spurious advice on environmental toxins. Predictably following the AMA and petro/pharma business model, those rendering “advice” are routinely known to downplay the very real risks of toxins. While describing the reactions to recognized poisons as “allergies” and spewing blanket assertions that “some” react to this or that and others are unaffected fails to take account of multiple assaults on immune system, and overall toxic exposures. Terribly inter-related and frightfully complex are these issues. Sensible limiting to ALL man-made toxins as well as healthy food choices, organic, non-gmo, glyphosate-free diet and food-grown vitamin and mineral supplementation along with regular moderate exposure to natural sunlight and simple hand-washing hygeine goes far to build health and resistance to disease. Doctors are woefully in grasp of pharma and know little, and care less, of preventive lifestyle. Such would enable would-be patients to stay whole and sound and not reliable customers.

Most of my information re. COQ10 supplements comes via information gleaned from ConsumerLab.com, with whom I have had a subscription for nearly 20 years. Note: I have no affiliation with this organization. I have concluded that, for me, it provides the most trust-worthy, understandable scientific data about supplements, and I buy none without researching the information they provide both on their website and the numerous links they also provide. As an aside: Many years ago I noticed a defamatory title re. CL in a results list during a search for a health-related topic. Interesting, recently I learned that the organization that wrote that negative article about CL is a shill–hired to give “credibility to a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with that person or organization”, and… “also act to discredit opponents or critics of the person or organization in which they have a vested interest through character assassination or other means”. Ah, the possible pitfalls of Internet disingenuous-ness and gullibility of some users.

All of that to say, I trust the myriad COQ10 scientific data I have learned from CL, which includes this basic take-away: Supplementation with it can be important for many people; If you decide to avoid Polysorbate 80, read labels carefully before purchasing and buy products that do NOT include “absorption enhancers”. Another absorption enhancer is black pepper extract, which is GRAS, but with its own issues for some people.

My unsolicited opinion is that we consumers must do our own deep dive into research regarding anything and everything about which we have questions; however, re. supplements and vitamins, the only reviews, test results and ratings that I trust must come from independent testing that is completely unaffiliated with the manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of the product.

Strub’s pickles, here in Canada, seem to sell different dill pickles with different brines. You have to read every label. I have dill pickles with no preservatives (Strub’s brand) However, Costcos sells Strub’s with Polysorbate 80 in their brine. What going on here?? I suggest we stop buying all cans, bottles, package goods from all the big Corporate groups to start with. Then go after the dairy industry which is a disgrace to all humans and the poor cows. FULL disclosure with no tricks added, Thanks

Not sure how these studies prove the point either. These rats that had adverse effects had polysorbate as 20% of their diet and the effects were mild. If you did a study about the effects of a diet composed of 20% sodium chloride you would find out right death. All the rats would be dead. People would freak out and call it toxic until they realize that sodium chloride is just the chemical name for “salt”. This is a lot of uninformed people on the “can’t pronounce it, must be bad” band wagon. Allergies are real business. If you are allergic to Polysorbate or have you have Chrone’s disease then obviously don’t use it. But to assume one man’s allergy equals another man’s toxin is wrong.

Pat, you are single handedly ruining people’s lives. You must understand this article otherwise you wouldn’t be preaching about polysorbate 80 being harmless, esp cosmetic grade. We all know you work for a distributor. Do us all a favor and stop being you.

Oh Geez, come on Pat! A lot of people have not been “Indoctrinated” into a medical / chemistry education but they can see there is a problem en masse. Increased allergies are just a red flag of increasing cellular degenerative problems. There is something wrong and you don’t have to know all the nomenclature of a medical / chemistry degree to know that. You provide all the wonderful information that you received from somewhere but did you ever stop to wonder where the information you got came from? Add to that, people are getting sick and tired of being lied to by chemical, pharmaceutical, and medical companies for profit.

“DDT is a safe, wonderful product,” we were told. “Thalidomide! The new wonder drug for morning sickness. Safe as houses,” we were told. “Asbestos is the greatest product ever. It’s a fantastic fire retardant and completely safe to use,” we were told.

And the list goes on and on and on!

And then you pompously scoff at the silly “uneducated” and wonder why there is a growing mistrust of these companies when they claim such and such new product has been found safe for human consumption.

You know that famous saying by good ol’ Honest Abe,

“You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

No, Harry, the implication is not that learning is harmful. And, I do not get the sense that Phil is anti-intellectual. I think the point Phil is trying to make is that to blindly trust a product as safe just because the government or a company has said it is safe is a foolish and risky thing to do. I believe that Phil would agree with me that we should be learning all we can about the ingredients in the foods and medications we ingest.

It’s hilarious reading these comments. All of you went about your lives totally fine, using Polysorbate 80 in lotions/makeup, and eating it without any issue. Now you read that “it is toxic and should be avoided” suddenly you have a reaction to it. Talk about hypochondria. It’s like people who don’t have gluten disorders avoiding gluten because they’re “sensitive” to it. Unless you actually have celiac disease, gluten cannot possibly affect you in any way. There’s no such thing as gluten sensitivity, there’s only celiac disease. Polysorbate is present in animal and vegetable fats and oils. It’s not toxic or harmful.

Wow – I have heard a lot of misinformed people make comments on gluten but yours – Absolutely Hilarious – is not funny at all! You obviously know nothing about food allergies, the levels and severities involved or what is currently being done to make food a shelf stable product instead of food. Do some research, talk to people in your community with food allergies and those that are classified as sensitive. ( Here is a hint – the difference between an allergy and a sensitivity is the level to which your body reacts to a substance) For example when doing a scratch test someone could react to a level 2 out of 5 – which means there body does not want that substance in it, but it won’t necessarily kill you instantly. Or someone could react 5 out of 5 – which means they are deathly allergic. I am extremely curious where you obtained the information to back your claim that ” Unless you actually have celiac disease, gluten cannot possibly affect you in any way.” Where did you get your medical degree from? Or are you not a Doctor or Scientist and probably not qualified in any sense to make such a claim of FACT?

You are a fool. Do a little research. I do not have celiac but have major problems when I eat wheat. You aren’t a fool for thinking misinformed information but you are for spotting it. It makes me so mad because you could actually convince people that it is all in their head when it is not. Medicine is changing. Thank God. People’s mind are opening. Get on the train or get further and further behind. And honestly how dare you make fun of someone because of the diet they choose for themselves. You are not their body.

Exactly Shelby. If a person is able to cut through all the false data and find an ethical doctor they can get a set of comprehensive tests to find your individual deficiencies and get treated properly and effectively without stupid chemicals. Many, many of these problems will be found to have an organic cause.

Many years ago I gave up eating any ice cream. The reason was that I was trying to lose weight. I lost weight really fast not eating ice cream. Thereafter I tracked weight daily for a period of time. Whenever I tried eating ice cream again after this “no ice cream” diet, I found that each time I ate ice cream, I weighed a pound more the next day. I tried various things, like eating a very small amount (tablespoon). No matter how much I ate, I still weighed a pound more the following day at my weigh-in. Needless to say, to avoid turning into a whale, I gave up ice cream. So the process of eating ice cream seemed to have turned inflammatory for me. When I mentioned this to my family, they told me I was crazy. So, I quit talking about it until now.

wow, pat…it’s good to know that the severely debilitating headaches and projectile vomiting (until i couldn’t breathe) that i experienced for about 20 years until i removed all forms of grain from my diet was just in my head and i can go back to eating whatever i want! yet…i have never been diagnosed with celiac’s disease.

Your comment about celiac disease vs sensitivity was very interesting. My son had gastrointestinal problems for a number of years. First the drs said to eliminate dairy. This helped slightly but was still a huge problem. We started questioning gluten so the dr ordered a test for celiac disease. Since it would take at least 2 weeks for the test results I was not willing to wait that long. We pulled the gluten related foods and there was a very dramatic improvement. The Celiac test surprisingly came back negative. If this were your child what would you conclude? I previously never put much stock in sensitivities vs allergies either. But what can I say after this experience? If he now accidentally eats gluten related foods (he no longer lives at home) he has gastrointestinal problems (diarrhea). I could only conclude that since he was not allergic (celiac) and he most definitely benefitted from the removal of gluten from his diet that he was most definitely sensitive to gluten. If it were you that experienced that problem what would you conclude?

Thank you @Not Insane. This article is one of the least informative pieces on “danger” I’ve ever seen. It’s an emulsifier, people. Without it, your products would separate into two or more phases and your products wouldn’t mix together well. As for the idiot who posted (in all caps?) about taking the supplement Co-Q10…. Coenzyme Q10 is a naturally occurring substance in your body. It serves to help your cells generate “fuel” known as ATP. In other words, if you take additional amounts of this substance ON TOP OF the amount that your body naturally produces, it will make your body work harder to generate more ATP (which will probably manifest as not being able to sleep as well and having “restless energy.”) Maybe next time read the label of the product? Better still, maybe next time do a little independent research on what you are about to put into your body instead of impulse buying any old product that says “heart health” at Costco.

Pat, it should ? apparent by now that most of those on this thread don’t give a blankety-blank about chemistry or any science relating there unto. It’s all about anecdotal evidence and scuttle butt from social media. Heaven forbid we drag the empirical sciences into the fray. ?

Okay Pat, Get a life. Obviously you have nothing better to do than commenting in a vicious manner about other people’s comments. If you are chemist then that’s great. Wouldn’t your time be better served helping people instead of attacting them with your words. Really, some of the comments you replied to are years old. Just make one comment on your thoughts on the article without singling people out. You were probably the neighborhood bully or someone who was bullied……I don’t know a lot of chemistry but I do know a lot about psychology.

Russ – I completely agree, Probably a paid cyber bully. I took the time to reply to most of “Pat’s” comments because it angered me how they seemed to be able to throw “facts” around with out any documentation of those “facts” and yet only attacked the people here for not knowing the “facts”. Bottom line is this compound and many others do not belong in food. Food does not need to be shelve stabalized, colored or have fillers added to it, just to add to a company’s bottom line.

Maybe Pat is an allopathic Doctor. Most of them are clueless when it comes to nutrition and 7-10 years behind most science. In fairness, it is really not their fault. They are puppets for the pharmaceutical companies. Cut your strings and see the light doctor or not Pat.

Just found out this is in Apri, a birth control pill It’s also in the flu vax and others as mentioned. I had an allergy test because I have developed allergies and eczema and Polysorbate 80 was my highest allergen, so I started looking for what they are in.

I have Celiac disease and have been taking a medication that contains polysorbate 80. The company directly states the polysorbate 80 they use is derived from wheat. Do you think this would add any negligible amount of gluten protein to my Med?

Steve, post your inquiry on Celiac.com. You’ll get replies there from people, including doctors, who are knowledgeable about Celiac disease! Good luck! (I have Celiac and came across this conversation because I just found out Im highly allergic to polysorbate 80 and did a search in order to learn where it is so I can avoid it.)

Polysorbate 80 is FDA approved and widely used in ice cream to make it smoother. It is also approved in many tear free baby wash and shampoo products, hypoallergenic and one of the mildest skin products available. Tear free means minimal eye irritation unlike most other shampoos containing skin destructive SDS. As an 81 year geezer and retired chemist, I have used it for many years from head to toes. It is also claimed to restore hair growth or at least minimize hair losses from excessive shampooing and it works for me still having plenty of hair albeit graying.

Polysorbate 80 and 20 are completly safe in particular when obtained from plant source. It has been approved by the FDA as a safe exipient in injectable drugs and for long term use. I have worked in biotech and Pharma where both are used in almost every manufacturing process. There is no concern to use them in skin care products at all.

Yes, since it’s FDA approved, it MUST be safe. No disrespect intended, sir. But as a wiser and older gentleman, you should know how “safe” FDA approved products truly are. They don’t give a damn about us and our safety or health. We’re victims of greed and profit over people. Food was never meant to be chemical ridden or a chemical itself. And despite what the degreed lunatics think, we CANNOT improve on nature or be God as they believe. I mean, unless all the cancer rates, allergies to PESTICIDES-NOT food, illness, i.e. gut bacteria killers, digestive problems, anaphylaxis, are improvements on nature? Ever see a drug ad on TV? A million symptoms from a pill that might help ONE problem. They get us sick, keep us sick, and all make money off us doing it.

Whilst I agree the author of this article should’ve provided more information, I doubt this was meant to be comprehensive; it’s most likely just a starting point for personal research to launch off of.

Pat, your shamelessly berating comments show what kind of person you are. I hope you’re able to look inward and change what needs to be changed so you can be a less demeaning person in the future.

Just in case anyone other than Pat needs a definition: Toxin – a poisonous substance that is a specific product of the metabolic activities of a living organism and is usually very unstable, notably toxic when introduced into the tissues, and typically capable of inducing antibody formation Found: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxin

Since reading the article, I wonder – is food-grade PS80 toxic? To what scale? How likely is it this stuff could cause an adverse reaction in its purest form? How much would it take to experience any reaction at all (in a general sense, of course)?

As one who has kids, I no longer blindly trust the FDA or any other such agency/industry and find the mere suggestion that I or anyone else should laughable. Just because something’s approved DOES NOT speak to the actual safety/efficacy of the item/product! Cigarettes were once approved and touted as healthy. So was Coke. Need I go on? The FDA has known about the dangers of aspartame for years – decades, I believe – but has yet to mandate/enforce its removal from shelves/products (such as Equal & diet Coke). Be my guest, if you wish to trust people who don’t have your best interests at heart…but if you’d rather pull your head out of the sand and be knowledgeable about the world you live in, I’d suggest doing so much research you feel like you couldn’t possibly find out something new – then research even more.

Well, Said Chelle! When you understand the motivation for population reduction, you can figure out why our food is made the way it is. Ask yourself what the very rich eat. It is not the crap that they keep selling us. those food manufacture companies are laughing at how they can sell us food which is composed of very little if any real food. The best bet is to eat food that is in it’s natural form. Avoid supplements. Continuous exposure to chemicals can cause allergic reactions. You don’t need to be an expert, or doctor to know your body. Your body will tell you what it needs and doesn’t if you listen to it.

Well said. Natural food is best, no fillers, pesticides, GMO’s(mutated not modified) or any other B.S. . All I really want to know is what can I use in place of this crap? All I need to know and want is a answer, not asking for a lecture.

Wow, so much anger! Have any of you actually had any problems with your gut? Also, definitely way too trusting of our FDA approval system. I drank 2 glasses of milk a day until I was 38 years old and I am of the age that was the test group for processed foods! I exercised daily and was in excellent condition even after having 3 kids. By the age of 40 I was diagnosed with IBS which I translate; we don’t know what is really wrong with you so we will just give it a name. I was also diagnosed with many food allergies which I had never had before. Then by 45 I found a Functional MD who treats your whole body and she figured out that I had “Leaky Gut” in which, you are not properly digesting your food so it passes into your immune system which runs right along your stomach. Because your body has never seen undigested food it begins to attack it’s own immune system causing even more food “Sensitivities” not allergies along with other immune system diseases. Once I stopped eating Dairy, Gluten & Pure sugar my stomach started to feel much better. As of just a few months ago I was diagnosed with a rare stomach disease called ” Eosinophillic gastroenteritis”. From what my doctor can determine much of my stomach issues come from many years of eating too many processed foods full of toxins such as pesticides. We have FDA approved ingredients in our foods that most of Europe considers to be too poisonous to be used in their food and is outlawed from use. In 09 our entire family spent 3 weeks in Spain, Italy and France and I was extremely worried about what I would be able to eat while there with so many diet restrictions. I decided to try some foods I hadn’t eaten in years and much to my surprise I was totally fine. I ate pasta, cheeses, drank wine and had no stomach issues. This is a very common thing and really makes me wonder about the food we are allowing people to eat here. Cancer is out of control, heart disease is on the rise, and the hormones is all our meat is wreaking havoc on our girls hormones. I see that a few of you on this feed seem to be chemists and think that people like me are hypochondriacs. All I know is that I have changed my diet to mostly organic foods and grass fed meats to try and insure that I am not ingesting anymore chemicals than I already have. I suggest some of you do some more homework on what is in our food and what the side effects truly are. Also, consider yourself extremely lucky to be able to eat whatever you want and not have severe cramping and other terrible things happening to you! The food in this country is a REAL problem that I hope we figure it out before we ruin the next generation. None of my kids could drink milk thankfully and they didn’t eat a lot of meat either. Just sayin……

Nancense…that is very interesting as i also cannot eat grains of any kind, even organic sprouted grains. I have often wondered if i were to go to Italy if i would be fine eating their bread. Had you tried organic breads in the states before going abroad and were you able to them? Thank you for your comment.

By appearances, “Pat” is spokesperson for petro/pharma complex. Little more than the knowledge that Polysorbate 80 is proven to induce sterility and violates the “tight junctions” allowing it and other substances to penetrate the blood-brain barrier would enable a proper decision of the poisonous “adjuvant” to be avoided. Modern diets are severly compromised and create consumers of allopathic treatment methods. That’s read as: sick people are good customers for drugs and doctors. Healthy folks should, and do, avoid them like the plague. For totally mind-blowing article giving background to medico/industro practices: Unethical Medical Experiments in United States. After some 40 pages of what is KNOWN AND ON RECORD few doubts should remain as to conventional medicine and trust. One can only imagine what passed unrecorded.

if you consume anything with aspartame, splenda or just sugar free STOP. This will make you extremely sick in many ways. Look this up for yourself. its almost common news. causes blindness, hearing loss, brain tumors, thyroid cancer, diabetes, forgetfulness, mood swings, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, fat hips and thighs, you actually get fatter..and soo much more. Almost in a few hours you will experience this. Get rid of everything sugar free in your life.. Drink and eat the real stuff.. its also highly addicting. If you want detoxes or fiber go to dr. natura dot com and use their programs. They also have a fiber product thats way better.. I used the colonix program and it keeps my inflammation at bay as well as stomach aches, metabolism and sooo much more.

I used any product that promised to stop the signs of aging! Okay thats a bit much but I really didn’t care about chemicals. IF it’s sold to the public it must be safe right? Baby powder – talc – is a great example! Years later women are diagnosed with cervical, ovarian and other cancers. and it is believed to be caused by talc in baby powder. After I had my 3rd cancer at age 36 (breast) the radiation changed a LOT. how foods tasted but mostly products I used on my skin. I used the same pain lotion product I used for years but somehow NOW I was vomiting shaking and sweating. I went to the ER they looked at me and asked what if any drugs I had taken. UM… NONE! it passed after an hour or so. Unknown cause. 3 days later… I put the lotion on same reaction. I AM NOT A CHEMIST PAT or anyone else. I did however spend the next 4 years learning as much as possible about the products I used on my skin. Once I stopped using all those anti aging products that YES had added chemicals like preservatives, my skin and hair changed completely, Im 40 and my skin looks better today than 5 years ago. Make up doesn’t help LOL my skin looks better without none. From my personal experiences, after radiation and cancer… I have severe reactions to skincare or topical products I use. I have seen some horribly sensitive kids since I started my small company. It is heartbreaking to see them itch and scratch. Some have diagnosed skin conditions like eczema while others no explanation. I do agree with you Herman… many of these chemicals have ZERO effect on the majority of people while others like myself have terrible reactions. Now that I have stopped using any chemical skincare products, my skin HATES anything not all natural. At first I could still use makeup etc now it’s as if my skin rejects anything. In my non expert opinion… most people are not allergic to polysorbate but if you think you are, just eliminate any products with it. There are tons of natural products out there and Aveeno is NOT ONE OF THEM! Total lies. It has plenty of chemicals.

You have a lot of heavy metals in your system which makes you sensitive to almost anything else. These polysorbate 80 “facts” are taken out of context.. Look up activated charcoal & bentonite clay detox to remove heavy metals. Dr. Axe has a great blog you should subscribe..

Hey Pat, thank you for your support. The world needs more people like you to misguide uhhh I mean inform the masses. Obviously you are WAY smarter than everyone, so I applaud you sir. Keep up the good fight.

Pat’s right. Don’t discount science. It’s the only route to the truth. Don’t look to ewg for information, they are slanted (follow the money)

And when you are willing to pay 4X as much for meat and milk, and have convinced the rest of the country to as well, then go after the industries – they respond to demand.

And finally, if you react to ALL chemicals then you are already dead. If your body hates everything that is not natural then you are utterly mistaken. I cannot state this gently – you need to educate yourself and not make ridiculous sweeping statements.

Sorry, but “studies” are bought and paid for by the industries themselves and are severely compromised. And, interestingly, no requirements to include ALL TESTING AND STUDY RESULTS means that those unfavorable results are buried and subsequent tests run prior to FDA acceptance of the manufacturerers “assurance” that product has been determined to be safe. Millions or billions of dollars later some “revisions” can be made and demostrably unsafe products pulled. That is, after incalculable harm done to consumers and laggardly regulators rewarded by cushy jobs in the same industry previously overseen. Europe is far ahead of American health protection laws. Russia has banned ALL gmo crops, while Bayer, the former chemical warfare division of Nazi I G Farben is poised to merge with Monsanto, makers of Agent Orange, DDT, 2,4D, and known as “the most evil corporation in the world to control the poisoning of general population through genetically modified crops, livestock, and farmed-fish. Thereby insuring steady market for pharmaceuticals. Conventional medical curriculum glosses these issues and produces pill-pushers and health-food scoffers. Like Pat et al.

These studies are from ONE test subject that were done through an IV. Polysorbate 80 is natural and used at 5% does absolutely no harm to the body. The skin does not absorb Polysorbate 80 nor does it permeate the layers of the skin. Not even Olive Oil permeates the skin. Jojoba Oil is the smallest type of molecule that mimics the skins sebum and is more of a wax than an oil.

If you drink a LARGE amount of this, for some odd reason you would, of course you will get ill! I cant imagine an IV directly into your blood stream! What sort of human would even sign up for such experiments?? LOL Anyways, I am a licensed Esthetician and there are very educational articles online to assist in the skin absorption myths.

There is a ton of half truths going around on blogs that people unfortunately, copy & paste. They are severely mislead. For example, many pregnant women avoid Rosemary herbs like the plague. This is ridiculous. Rosemary essential oils and in lotions etc are extremely beneficial for any woman pregnant or not. Rosemary does induce labor, but you would have to eat BUNCHES of it..literally BUNCHES. So this is yet another rumor..like the phone game we used to play in grammar school. I have several of these types of examples.

Hi, I’m new to this forum, lots of interesting – conflicting comments and views. I found it because I was looking up PS80 to find out what it was, and because I am trying to make some natural skin care products that don’t cause problems to people or the environment – so could anyone tell me what I could use instead of PS80 to solubilise waxes, creams and liquids (like essential oils) please

“I don’t understand the debate. If people would just look a the first statement: This is a lesser known sSYNTHETIC compound”. SYNTHETIC means a substance made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product. it’s not natural so as vaccines, all ice cream, pudding and all sauces that are being marketed and being sold in stores. And sure it can make your soaps and bath bombs suds pretty..but hey, it’s still SYNTHETIC!

I dont know what polysorbate 80 is, but it is the 2nd ingredient in Zatarain’s shrimp & crab broil. I inadvertently burned some in a pot while steaming mussels for the first time and the fumes nearly ran me out of my home. I coughed for nearly 15 minutes straight and my lungs were irritated for quite a while. I had to open every window and my front door to air this stuff out! It was like inhaling CS gas without the burn. Don’t think I’ll be cooking with or eating this stuff any more!

I looked this ingredient up because my daughter just got her results from an IgG food sensitivity test that showed she was moderately sensitive to Polysorbate 80. Now I realize that her extreme sensitivity to the vitamins and supplements I have given her is probably due to this emulsifier. It’s often used in the gel caps. It’s also in many vaccines so we will be avoiding the ones that contain it.

(Alive vitamins)do not have polysorbate 80 in them and they are the best vitamins I have ever taken and I have taken very expensive vitamins. Get them at Walmart for $8.97 a bottle of 50. They have all vegetables and fruits in them. And for all of you that hurt when you walk. Another product at Walmart worth looking into is Move Free with(Hyaluronic acid) great discovery, that our bodies make already, but we lose as we age.

Thank you for this interesting article. My poor hubs suffers with colitis and has terrible ‘flare ups’ wherein it becomes ulcerated. We eat home made from scratch and home grown organic wholefoods but do occassionally slack off and buy a conveniently ready-made product. I’ll be checking ingredients labels even more closely now. Anything to avoid him having a colostomy bag at such a young age

I was about to add some ” Beach Cliff Fish Steaks in Louisiana Hot Sauce” to my brown rice and fresh vegetable… so when I looked at the ingredients “Polysorbate 80” stood out the most. I don’t eat them often as I have been striving not to consume prepackaged food items and not to mention how damaging the fishing industry has been to the Global ecosystem. So I might eat them this time considering I have already been limiting my food intake, being very selective. Thanks for the info… ???

I am a biologist and a chemist, also very allergic to polysorbates. From my extensive research it seems that polysorbate is harmful. I do not allow it into my house and my children and myself do not get vaccinations after I’ve had horrible reactions. So before people go mouthing off that polysorbate is fine, think again.

for me, w/o any research whatsoever, poly sorbate 60 or 80 will randomly cause IBS with sudden bowel movements and cramping. I try to avoid everything with it including alcohol mixers or alcohol products that may have it because they are not required to list it. Cake icing, pickle products, coffee creamers, most pre made bakery products, some ice cream products, I also stay away from anything w/ sorbital in it like certain toothpastes and most breath mints and sugar free gums because my gut just can not handle it.

They need to provide something for these truck driver to help them stay in shape. If there is a way they can give them a discount or pay for a gym membership that would be amazing. If they don’t they may end up losing a lot of their workers to these health issues. Apart from that, don’t you want your workers to be healthy anyway?

Why do I avoid it? Because it’s affects the food that it is in.. Cool whip keeps its shape after a night in the sink. Ice cream doesn’t change form after a night in the sink. Why would I deliberately put that in my body?

Easy to avoid food additives and harmful man-made chemicals. Only eat real food. Vegetables, fruit, milk, meat, grains. Grown ethically and organically. Ice cream should only consist of cream/milk, sugar and what ever type of fruit it is labled as. Nothing else needed. Cheaper to eat this way as you are not buying non food items such as cold cereals, chips, gummy bears, fruit roll ups, lunchables, cold cuts . Pudding packs, kraft macaroni and cheese, top ramen etc, All the stuff people think are ok to consume but really is not food. Your body has to fight the effects of the poisons in these items so you’re getting less than nothing. Many malnourished people are overweight.

Also, check out the ingredients in a package of frozen Tilapia. (They don’t list what the fish has eating on the fish farm, which you are also consuming) Anyway…….listed ingredients are, Tilapia, ( poor things) and carbon monoxide. Feed that to your kids folks. Many people do.

Don’t take vaccines? You are absolutely nuts!!!!! Stop reading the garbage posted on the internet. These are the same pathetic individuals who think 911 and Sandy Hook were fake. The FDA is not perfect but the system works and works well. So don’t take the vaccine and you will harm everyone including your children. Americans consume approximately 100mg of polysorbate 80 daily. It is safe and has been proven safe in rats and humans.

Polysorbate 80 is also used in Chemotherapy for Brain cancer, because it opens up the Blood Brain Barrier allowing chemo drugs to enter the brain. One can imagine where the mercury and aluminum will go to when Polysorbate 80 open up the BBB?

If you’re not taking poly 80 or vaccines (which you all seem to agree essentially ruin humans) then what caused you to act so poorly? You’re acting like entitled children who think their opinions are better than everyone’s. If you have personally studied this subject and have the proper evidence supporting widespread issues (of either your conspiracy theories or the damage vaccines do) then speak up. Speak up in the proper way stating the facts and how you found them. If you’re not, then get woke and get a dang hobby.

After exhaustive COQ10 research, and as a non-medical person, I conclude that supplementation with it can be useful/desirable, for many people. Anyone who wants to avoid Poly 80 and its ilk necessarily must be careful label readers and buy products that do not list or advertise “enhanced absorption” ingredients. While labels do not list the amount of Poly 80 in their supplement, there is a limit to the recommended amount for daily consumption: 175-475 mg., based on other ingredients present. This number is from the FDA, for whatever it may or may not be worth.

Black pepper extract is another “enhanced absorption” ingredient that is GRAS but that may cause problems for some folks.

My unsolicited opinion is that we consumers must do our own deep dive into research regarding anything and everything about which we have an interest and questions, particularly re. supplements and vitamins. Thus, the only reviews, test results and ratings that I trust must come from independent testing that is completely unaffiliated with the manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of the product. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to learn the red flags that indicate lurking shill “organizations”, companies, etc. that troll the Internet for gullible consumers.

Eat good, workout, be active every day, drink alot of water, and buy local and as much organic as you can. Stay away from chemicals and preservatives. Try not to buy into products with to many ingredients. NOOOOOOT GOOOD. Eat whole foods and stay away from fast foods. How basic can I explain this. Lifestyle choices are easy. If you are not sure about eating something and do not feel good about the ingredients then do not eat it. We all do not all know about all the ingredients in a product. Which is normal. We shouldn’t. That is why whole foods are the best. That is what life is all about. Why have a bunch of additives to a food. Eat the WHOLE FOOD. A simple diet equals a healthy and happy lifestyle.

Found this site by accident..how lucky for me. I am already onto FDA and their outright lies, the best info I gleaned from the above was to eat plainly,organic if possible READ LABELS.. email the company for full disclosure of their ingredients. There would seem to be a lot of heads in the sand !!! their choice. I make my own skin products and have difficulty getting “clean” ingredients..FDA have been on my tail for using Colloidal silver..they want it all their own way..and that would seem to eliminate the bulk of the world populous..by deceit! Just plain greed.

Just looked this up because I saw it on the jar of dill pickle I just bought. Well, the rest of the jar is going into the compost pile to hopefully be broken down by the sun, earth and air. Or at least diluted further. I will look for pickles without this. How rediculous anyway, why do cucumbers soaked in vinegar need something like this added to them? These food manufacturers are immoral.

In my handbook of ingredients for beauty products, it says that Polysorbate and other products made from PEG and PPG are not so bad in themselves, but are made from very poisonous gases, and the procedure to make them is not safe. These gases are part of chemical warfare. Why should we eat or use skin products derived from poison, when there are perfectly safe alternatives ?

First, Everyone is up in arms about polysorbate 80 in their ice cream and it causing stomach cancer when they are probably going to die of a massive myocardial infarction (heart attack) or cerebral vascular accident (stroke) long before the stomach cancer has time to metastasize (spread) throughout your body and kill you. There is enough fat and sugar in the junk food you eat that has the polysorbate 80, that you need to worry about other health issues first. Second, Vaccines are so much safer today than they were when I was a child and I am here living, breathing, and have no physical, mental, or emotional problems. My parents loved me enough to get me vaccinated so I would not get the illnesses the vaccines prevented. I had my children vaccinated also. They have no issues either. Not one of the seven has autism. They all made or are making excellent grades in school and have or will be going on to college. Both my oldest daughters have finished nursing school and have earned their MSN and work in pediatrics taking care of children like yours and see the affects of the diseases from not being vaccinated. It breaks my heart and theirs too. I’m glad they both can go home at the end of the day and hold my grandchildren knowing they are protected from those diseases. I will pray God will open your eyes and your hearts so you will learn what true love is for your children. Protect them.

This is an artificial compound made from fermented sugar. It raises blood sugars and will cause an insulin spike. Our food supply is already over saturated with carbohydrates this is just an example of how the food industry sneaks in hidden sugars. Not a necessary element in our food supply.

Can anyone confirm if it is safe to use 10% of polysorbate 80 in homemade makeup remover? Obviously it’s for topical use and will be washed off straight away. It’s just some of the comments here are quite alarming to read. Thanks in advance.

from what i understand its not polysorbate we need to worry about. It’s polysorbate that has ethylene oxide added to it. … I read that polysorbate by itself is a type of sugar alcohol, but polysorbate with numbers after it such as polysorbate20, 60, 80 indicates that ethylene oxide has been added to the polysorbate, the higher the number the higher the concentration… someone here suggested looking at the msds (thank you) and all i can find about toxicity is that “not sufficient research/information exists” etc…. yet the safety requirements on the safety data sheet all advise to wear protective clothing and eye protection, and warn if you get it on skin or eyes flush it off immediately and don’t breath it..etc… ..

sooooo, if all that handling protection is required with this stuff… why this stuff in the Natural, pure aloe vera gel that I used to use for sun protection, and why is it in the mouthwash i bought awhile ago.. ….arggghhh…. I also just discovered polysorbate80 in a can of coconut milk that I just bought… (sigh should hv read label more carefully).. If anyhow has suggestions as to where we can get better info on these products other than blogs from other upset humans please let me know.. for now i am going with the safety data sheets and handling with care (ie. avoiding it wherever possible)… And for gee’s sake please don’t vape the stuff.. at least till we know more….

Polysorbate 20/40/80 totally responsible for my 23 year battle with nasal polyps. After 3 sinus surgeries I discovered that all the nasal sprays, nearly all the prescription drugs, plus a host of foods contained different levels of polysorbates. I now am a strict label reader, health food customer and polyp free!

I recently had an allergic reaction to a product called vicks first defence. I’ve been trying to figure out what the reaction was triggered by and looking at the ingredients list I think it may be this one. I broke out in hives all over my neck. I have contacted the manufacturers but I’m interested that it is in so many other products as I also suffer with ibs and some other inflammatory responses.

I’ve been listening to a series, the truth about vaccines, the things that are used in vaccines, the number of shots given to children, to newborns, if it doesn’t kill them it ruins their health in one way or another, Hep B is given to newborns even if their mother is neg. Gardasil is given to girls and they don’t do well after, it’s also being given to boys, It’s suppose to stop cervical cancer, boy’s do not have a cervix. food and drug are allowed to put toxic chemicals in our food and drugs. You eat the food it ruins your health, you go to the doctor, he makes money, he gives you drugs your health get’s worse and the drug company makes money. People can believe what they want but evil is evil.